The invention relates to a tower for wind power installations, on which at least one rotor that can be driven by wind can be rotatably supported.
In terms of stability and rigidity, stringent demands are made of such a tower for a wind power installation. Not only must the tower support the rotor and withstand the wind load on both the tower itself and the rotor in high winds; it must furthermore not exhibit any fatigue, even under the dynamic and periodic load of the rotating rotor over long periods of time. Moreover, if at all possible, its natural oscillation frequencies should not be harmonics of the prevailing frequency of rotation of the rotor, so as to keep the amplitudes of the natural oscillation as low as possible.
Known tower constructions comprise a steel tube, or a plurality of steel pipe segments, and the tube cross section tapers linearly from the bottom to the top. In that case, the outer wall of the tower essentially has the form of a conical jacket whose tip has been cut off. The outer walls have a rectilinear profile in longitudinal section. Because the diameter decreases linearly upward toward the tip of the tower, weight is saved compared to a cylindrical tower shape, and relatively good stability is achieved.